Dow Ends Week Strong, Ready To Break Record High On Monday

In trading this week, the Dow gained 171.79 points in order to close at 18,140.22, just 4 points shy of a record high. The S&P 500 added another 21.52 over 5 days to close at 2,110.30. The NASDAQ was also up, rising 86.24 in order to finish the day Friday at 4,955.97. Trade volume was average to high, with a large spike in volume happening at the end of the week when gains were the strongest.

Why Did The Dow Bounce On Friday? In a word: Greece. The market has been worried about a Greek default, which could signal the country's exit from the Eurozone.

If Greece wasn't bailed out by Europe today in the finalized deal that granted a 4-month extension on loan repayment, the Dow could have gone another way entirely. Then again some serious economists, including former Fed chair Alan Greenspan, think that Greece's exit from the Eurozone, and the potential collapse of the Euro currency, are on the way regardless.

The Week's 5 Hottest Stocks. When it comes to making quick money in the market, these 5 stocks were the ones that did it best over the past 5 days. Capnia (CAPN) lead the pack with over 200% growth, starting the week below 2 points and finishing it at 5.45 per share. Eagle Pharmaceuticals (EGRX) jumped from less than 20 to just over 33 per share, while Cyberark Software (CYBR) grew 33.95% over 5 days and closed at 70.35. Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) and Signal Genetics (SGNL) rounded out the top 5, with Assembly shooting up almost 43% to close at 14.95 and Signal up 42.06% to end trading at 2.57.

Getting More For Your Money. The trends that we're seeing toward a strengthening dollar is a double-edged sword. Overseas importers and domestic manufacturers get less for their money as imports fall and manufacturing feedstocks are used up, but consumers are the ones who benefit. A strong dollar is good news if you're tired of the high price of beef, fed up with expensive coffee, or wish that the price of a gallon of gas would just keep falling. In fact, the futures-based commodities market sees all three products dropping in price this spring.

2 Surprising Stocks Trading At Their Peak. Both Denny's (DENN) and Apple (AAPL) are trading at their peaks currently, and they're doing it for very different reasons. Apple, which is at 129.50 per share, got there largely on the back of the Chinese market. Its devices are some of the hottest sellers overseas, and with China's growing wealth, Apple (AAPL) can charge just about anything they want for one. Denny's (DENN), on the other hand, is up entirely on the backs of US consumers. More people than expected went out to eat last quarter, and it sent shares of Denny's stock soaring.

Gold Has The Potential To Scrape $1,000 This Year. Over the course of the previous 12 months, the price of gold has fallen -9.40% to $1,203.40 per troy ounce. If those trends continue at the same pace, the price of gold could easily settle down around $1090 per troy ounce by this time next year. Since the price of gold is, in large part, a measure of economic certainty and the US economy is on the upswing, it is absolutely possible that the downward trend could not just continue, but actually intensify. Investors who have money in bullion, futures, or exotic retirement vehicles like gold-backed IRAs should pay careful attention to the trendline of gold and the strength of the dollar.

The Hottest Stock In 100 Days. There's no denying it, when it comes to pure trading volume social media giant Twitter (TWTR) is the hottest stock around. Over the past 100 days, nearly 24 million shares of Twitter stock has changed hands. Has that helped or hurt the company? Well the news is good, share prices for everyone's favorite app are up 10 points.